


The Sea that was Home

by the_rain_shall_fall



Series: Vanderweek 2017 [2]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff and Angst, Gen, mentions of child abuse, mermaid au, vanderweek day 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 10:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11377911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_rain_shall_fall/pseuds/the_rain_shall_fall
Summary: It only took a terrible storm for this nameless mermaid to meet the twins that will change his life for as long as he lived. Never had he imagined there’d be a time where he’d share the sea that was home.





	The Sea that was Home

**Author's Note:**

> 2nd day of Vanderweek and I am as hyper as ever~  
> Day 2: Alternates (AU) Mermaid AU, to be specific 癶(癶✺౪✺ )癶

There had been a terrible storm. He watched from his safe spot underneath the corals and by the opening of the cave as ships sunk to the depths of the sea. He watched as humans tried to swim but their bodies weren’t made to survive the wrath of the sea. He watched trinkets slowly went down, some glittering, some reflecting the light and making it bounce all over his golden tail.

A swift movement caught his eye. There was a young mermaid caught up in the strong current towards one of the deeper trenches in the area. He couldn’t leave her alone – poor kid would die. Tentatively, he reached out to feel the sea. He could take on this current, he was strong enough even as a barely teenaged merman himself. Kicking at the water, he rode the current and took a hold of the terrified girl. Swimming as hard as he could, he successfully took them to safer grounds, getting the little mermaid in one of the deeper caves.

“Stay here and wait until the storm is over.” He said, the girl smiling wide at him, thankful and relieved. He thought everything was okay when his tail was caught in a net. All he could remember was the terrified screaming of the mermaid and the feeling of being sucked in a whirlpool.

The brunet woke up to daylight, the painful sunrays against his bleary eyes. His body screamed of pain, especially his tail that was still entangled in the annoying net. Scars littered his body and arms but he tried his best to pull off the net only to find it stuck within piles of rocks. _Great._ _He was going to be discovered by humans and either get killed or they make a freak show out of him_.

Bristling in anger, he wiggled his tail, clawed at the net until he was panting and growling and bleeding even more. A noise caught his attention as the brunet tried to shuffle away from the surface. _There were humans. He was going to be killed._

Two red-heads popped out from their hiding place, a pair of golden eyes curiously look at him. He stiffened, growling lowly as he tried to make them go away. One of the tomatoes – they looked like the fruits, okay? – slowly made his way towards him, amazed and not even caring if he was thrown to the ocean by an angry and threatened merman.

“Hyung…!” The scared tomato said, looking torn between staying where he was and going over to his brother. ‘Hyung’ turned to look at him and beckoned the other to come closer.

“Saeran! We have to help him.” Help? They weren’t going to tell others that there was a mermaid in the area? _But why?_ The tomato named ‘Saeran’ came closer while ‘Hyung’ tugged at the net, making the brunet growl in pain. ‘Hyung’ looked at him apologetically before looking around, as if he were looking for something.

“Saeran, tug at the net over there. I’ll try to remove the rocks!” These humans were persistent in helping him, but the brunet didn’t relax. What if they merely wanted to let him loose so they can drag him on land? He was but a teen; he didn’t have the adults’ ability to have legs when on dry land. At last, the net was loose and before the tomatoes could do anything to him, he dived straight into the water and never looked back.

Days passed and the brunet was plagued with the thought of being helped by humans. Humans, who did nothing good to the ocean. Humans, who thought they could rule the ever-changing ocean. Humans, who were foolish enough to believe they were the only ones who deserved to live. Every being out there hid from these humans and his kind were the same. His kind, who used to proudly rule the waters of the Earth. His kind, who used to be the protectors of every sea creature, until the humans knew of their existence and started capturing them and killing them off.

But these two humans were different. They actually helped him. They weren’t scared of him. They weren’t crying or screaming at the sight of him. _They helped him when he was in a pinch._ So even though his rational mind was screaming at him not to do it, the brunet merman decided he’d go back to the surface – to where he last saw the tomato humans.

He was right, they were there. The bright red hair was hard to miss, and with two of them sporting it made it even harder. The brunet hid behind a huge rock, watching the humans frolic around the spot he had been trapped days ago. He swam closer, hiding behind rocks while keeping an eye at them. Why weren’t they scared of him? His curiosity would kill him one day but he just needed an answer.

“Oh, Saeran! I found a pearl!” The human he remembered to be ‘Hyung’ started swinging the little pearl around, noticing late when ‘Saeran’ slipped on the slippery rocks and was already falling into the water. The brunet was quick to swim over and rescue the little one, lifting him on the rocks and checking if he was breathing.

“Mr. Merman!” The brunet glared at the human boy, who stiffened and blinked his wide golden eyes.

“Don’t play around here. It’s dangerous.” The other human started coughing out sea water, hand on his chest as he coughed and heaved. ‘Hyung’ was immediately by ‘Saeran’s’ side, patting his back. They must be brothers, sporting the same face… the humans had a term for this, he just couldn’t remember.

“Thanks, Mr. Merman. I’m Saeyoung and this is my twin brother, Saeran!” So his name was ‘Saeyoung’, not ‘Hyung’. The brunet blinked and nodded, waddling in the water. Twins… he rarely saw humans sporting the same face. There weren’t any mer-people who sported the same face as each other, so the mere idea was astonishing for him.

“Don’t play around here again.” The brunet insisted.

“But we wanted to see you again, Mr. Merman.” Saeyoung babbled, grinning wide and cheeky like a little brat who had everything he wanted. Saeran, who had been quiet beside him, nodded while shyly looking at the water, probably sneaking a peek at his tail.

“Does Mr. Merman have a name?” The question caught him off guard, Saeran’s curious golden eyes going from his tail to his own brown eyes. A name… he had been alone for as long as he remembered, with his parents killed during the height of mer-people hunting, only meeting other mer-people when it was needed. The brunet shook his head, disliking the frown that adorned the tomatoes’ faces.

“How about we give you a name then?” Saeyoung grinned yet again. Was this kid’s face not tired with all the grinning? The brunet watched as he was lightly hit by his twin, reprimanding him and telling him ‘not to be cheeky.’ They spend the day trying to figure out what name to give their new merman friend while looking for more pearls.

They get into a sort of routine. Once a week, the twins would come over to play with him, ask random questions about the ocean, and still figure out what name to give the brunet. In return, he’d fish out the biggest pearls he could find in the deep seabed. He knew how precious those were in the human world – pearls were just tears for the mer-people though.

“Mary Vanderwood 3rd!” Saeyoung suddenly screamed in the middle of floating in the ocean. The brunet blinked along with Saeran who was holding unto him as they swam around, curious fishes surrounding them.

“That’ll be your name, Mr. Merman!” He blinked, further confused with the sort of name he was given. But a soft giggle made him think twice about commenting – Saeran, who was holding unto him for dear life, was covering his mouth in an attempt to muffle the giggles. The older tomato – he finally figured out Saeyoung was the older brother – followed suit and soon, all three of them were giggling in the midst of the fishes and the deep blue ocean.

Spending the next few years with the twins was enough for Vanderwood to figure out their quirks and their secrets. Saeran, now in his teens, was very timid and always stuck close to Saeyoung while the older one grew to be loud and boisterous and strong enough for the both of them. He noticed how Saeran would sometimes be absent, how sometimes Saeyoung would wear that fake smile of his, how they’d show up with bruises but still lie to his face about how they got it. How sometimes they’d ask for more pearls than usual.

“I can help you escape.” Vanderwood said one day, making the twins look at him with fearful but hopeful eyes. Saeran was the first to look away, nibbling on his bottom lip.

“Escape from what, Mary? We’re completely fine!” The older of the twins had his mask on yet again. Vanderwood felt helpless as he didn’t push the topic any further. He wanted them to be happy, even if it’s just for a short time. He gave them twice as many pearls today when it was time to go home. If those pearls were helping them avoid whatever it was that torment them, Vanderwood would willingly scour the whole ocean for them or even resort to crying.

Days turned to weeks and still, no sign of the tomato twins. Vanderwood was getting more and more reckless as another day passed without seeing them. Were they all right? Were they doing okay? Did the pearls help them in whatever it was they needed them for? All these questions went unanswered as the brunet waited on the same spot, pearls falling down his face and floating, sinking into the water.

It had been 5 months now. The twins’ would have turned 16 two months ago. Vanderwood had cried too much he had a whole pile of pearls waiting for the recipient he wasn’t sure would come anymore. With the absence of the twins, he had consulted the sea witch, a petite brunette with the prettiest smile he’d seen on a being with immense power.

_He asked if it were possible to turn humans into mer-people._

“I have the power of the sea. I can do what you ask me off, but it comes with a price.” She said, that disarming but sad smile still on her face.

“What should I give in exchange for it?” He asked.

“Something precious. Something that will convince the Sea herself to bestow the humans you want to save their own tails.” The brunet nibbled on his lower lip – he didn’t have anything precious. Besides… the memories. Hazy memories of his time with his parents. Those rare moments when he’d play around with the other mer-people. The time he spent together with the twins.

_“It’s your choice, Vanderwood.”_

And it didn’t take him long to make that decision.

Swimming aimlessly, not minding the incoming storm, Vanderwood settled on the seabed again. He saw two mermen swim past him – one of silver tail while the other a bright yellow. The merman with the silver tail suddenly swam towards him. _Hyun_ , he thought was his name.

“You’re Vanderwood, right?” It’s weird to hear another merman say that name. He nodded, a sense of dread immediately awakening in him. Only the twins knew of that name.

“There are humans by your spot on the surface.” Hyun sounded worried and panicked. “One’s horribly wounded. The brother is looking for you.” Vanderwood didn’t waste a second as he swam towards the surface. He didn’t even care if the light was bouncing off of his tail, attracting the humans on their ships. All he cared was getting to the twins as fast as he could.

There they were, on the edge by the slippery rocks again. Saeyoung was in tears, bloody and wounded while Saeran lay beside him. Getting on the surface was harder with the waves crashing against the rocks, but the brunet managed. He checked the younger tomato, only to see him sporting bruises all over his body and was barely breathing.

_“Mary, Mary. Please! Saeran is…!”_ The other started blabbering, panic-driven and scared. _“We should’ve told you back then. We should’ve told you that Mother was hurting us. We should’ve told you that we needed the pearls for the money and that’s the only way for Mother not to hurt us! But we started feeling guilty because you’d always give more and more pearls every time we meet and just –!”_

“Shush now, Saeyoung.” Vanderwood was internally surprised with how calm his voice was. “Come with me. To the sea. She’ll be a whole lot kinder than what the land had been to you.” Golden eyes looked at him with hope and despair. Vanderwood knew that even if his memories will be taken in exchange for the twins' safety, he won't regret a thing. He'd choose to do it over and over again if he had to.

_“I just want Saeran to be safe.”_

 

Thus, the sea took the twins. The sea, which hated humans, cursed them to drown within its dark depths, invited in the twins as if they were originally part of it. The sea welcomed the red-heads as her children, and she didn’t even take Vanderwood’s memories. Now, the brunet had someone to share the sea that was his home.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment. They give me life. (๑＞ ヮ ❛๑)♡


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